TOSSED ASIDE
CALLAWAY EJECTED FOR FIRST TIME AS METS GET HAMMERED
ATLANTA — In the tug-of-war over whether Seth Lugo will better serve the Mets in the rotation or the bullpen, a night like Tuesday could serve as a frame of reference.
Paul Sewald was summoned in the sixth inning with the bases loaded in a game the Mets trailed by one run. The struggling right-hander proceeded to allow a grand slam to Ozzie Albies, burying the Mets in an 8-2 loss to the Braves, in which Mickey Callaway was ejected for the first time in his managerial career.
Lugo is needed in the rotation for now, but there has been debate within the organization over whether the right-hander should start or work from the bullpen once Noah Syndergaard returns from the disabled list.
Though general manager Sandy Alderson has indicated he leans toward preferring Lugo in the rotation, other team officials have joined the debate on the side of letting Lugo impact two or three games a week instead of just one.
And the sixth inning Tuesday night was a spot Lugo would have been considered.
“I think so,” Callaway said. “Obviously they had some pretty dangerous hitters coming up and you know their best pinch-hitting options off the bench are lefties, hitting for the pitcher, so you probably have [Lugo] going.”
Sewald is not part of the bullpen solution at the moment. He entered with a 6.58 ERA over his previous 13 2/3 innings and was charged for two runs over two innings against the Braves.
“Earlier in the year I wasn’t throwing pitches over the plate, I was hitting corners and changing speeds and doing what I do best and I was successful,” Sewald said. “So I know I can be successful again and get back to throwing good pitches and not leaving pitches over the middle.”
The Mets, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games, managed only three hits. Jay Bruce’s two-run double in the sixth that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead accounted for their scoring.
Zack Wheeler couldn’t get the final out in the sixth — as the Braves took a 3-2 lead before loading the bases — and watched Sewald surrender Albies’ blast into the right-field seats.
Wheeler (2-5) was charged with six earned runs on eight hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings.
“It was a tough one,” Wheeler said. “I didn’t have the best fastball command today. My [velocity] helped me out a little bit today and they got a lot of soft hits.”
Ender Inciarte’s second bloop RBI single of the game against Wheeler had given the Braves a 3-2 lead after Mets killer Freddie Freeman homered leading off the inning.
Bruce’s two-run double gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in a strange sixth inning that included the Mets loading the bases without a hit and Callaway getting ejected.
After Brandon Nimmo was hit on the right elbow and not awarded first base — Nimmo was told by the umpire he leaned into the pitch — Callaway arrived at home plate and was ejected by Stu Scheurwater for arguing the call. Nimmo said he did not lean into the pitch. “The ball was in my batter’s box so I don’t have to get out of the way of it,” Nimmo said. “I was surprised by that.”
Callaway’s argument was the ball was in the batter’s box, right at Nimmo.
“When you are in that position it’s hard to kind of get out of the way,” Callaway said, adding that he didn’t leave the dugout with the idea of getting ejected. “I thought the ball was at our player and that umpire made the wrong call.”
Braves right-hander Mike Foltynewicz was a challenge for the Mets, allowing only two hits over five shutout innings. But Foltynewicz left the game with triceps tightness after 73 pitches.
Inciarte’s first bloop RBI single gave the Braves a 1-0 lead in the fourth, but the damage could have been worse for Wheeler, who had loaded the bases with nobody out.